Atistic Endeavours
by Clockwork Imagination
Summary: The day after the movie events, Wikus finds himself in the care of an artist who grants him asylum in exchange for permission to document/illustrate his continually warping body; While always under the ever-looming shadow that is the MNU.  Review please
1. Attempts To Assimilate

Wikus swore as the third bout of pain that day enveloped his right arm, searing up to the shoulder and back down again, jolting around inside of his flesh like lightning.

"Ffff... Fook!" He hissed, falling back against a nearby shack and sliding down into a sitting position, gripping the aching arm with his alien one.. But even though his instincts told him to grip where it hurt, it didn't help, and only reminded him of how unnatural he was becoming. It was such an awkward and sickening feeling he had, looking at that mutated arm of his. Using it for anything only made it worse, and slowly he let go of his right arm, letting them both go limp at his sides. The bouts of pain did not last too long, and he sat there for a few minutes, gritting his teeth and shaking slightly until it passed. He didn't dare look at the progress the virus was making on his right arm- last time he checked, there had been a few thin, tender patches of dark exoskeleton forming on his shoulder and upper arm. The pain was definitely concentrated in that particular area, so he had a feeling it wouldn't be long before it advanced further down his arm and warped it like it had the other one.

He hissed another swear word as it intensified, and scraped at the dirt with his heels, pressing himself up against the wall of the shack. And then it was over. The pain subsided and he let out a sigh, body relaxing visibly. For a few moments he was still, then he grunted and pushed himself back up onto his feet. He wobbled a bit at first before regaining his balance and took off down the dirt streets of District 9. His main objective? To find a safe place to hide until the change had fully taken place. After that, it was merely a matter of blending in with the rest of the non-humans and moving to District 10.. Hopefully to start a new life amongst the species he was slowly morphing into. This whole process had taken a huge toll on him, both physically and mentally.. While at first he was indignant to it, he had been humbled by the recent events and had resigned himself to this new lifestyle he had been forced into.

Quietly he walked, his sock-clad feet feeling worn- it had been some time since he'd worn shoes and he missed them. Socks really didn't do much in the way of protecting his feet from sharp objects, or puddles for that matter. But he had no other choice, and he really did prefer to at least have something, no matter how ineffective, to wear on his feet. Clothes in general made him feel less alien and more human, which was a valuable feeling for him now. Small comfort.

Feeling a bit exposed, he pulled up the hood of the ragged, baggy gray hoodie he'd been able to scavenge out of a clothes donation bin. Since he'd obtained it, it had gone through a bit of wear and tear but it still serviced him greatly in concealing his non-human parts; the sleeves were baggy and long enough that they successfully hid his mutated arm, and the hood shaded his face and mismatched eyes. It was a perfect piece of clothing for him, and probably the only good thing that had happened to him since the whole fiasco began. The vaguely warm feeling of looking almost entirely human again was enough to force a very small smile onto his face; this expression was soon wiped clear off of his features, however, when the sound of a vehicle coming up behind him became audible.. He whirled around, catching sight of a white, Jeep-like vehicle coming in his direction.. Fast. Its large tires rumbled along the dirty streets of the slum, bouncing over bumps and plowing over objects such as half-eaten tires and cardboard boxes. There were a few Poleepkwas milling around by their various shacks, doing mostly nothing except picking through some piles of trash disinterestedly; they scattered and hid inside their homes as the Jeep passed. Wikus panicked. Surely it was the MNU, come to claim him and drag him back to the laboratories for more horrific tests. Frozen in place for a few moments, he watched as the Jeep drew closer.. It was only until the vehicle was so close that the logo on the front of the Jeep was clearly visible that he took action. He turned quickly to scramble away, but stopped, cringing as the window rolled down and someone called out to him.

"Hey! Hey dude!" It was a feminine voice.. But that wasn't what caught his attention. Whoever it was in the vehicle had just called him "dude". MNU officers did not call people "dude". Turning back around slowly, he kept his head bowed to make sure his face stayed hidden, while simultaneously attempting to steal a glance at the person in the vehicle.

"What are you doing in here? Need a ride?" The lady asked, leaning over to the open window from her seat on the opposite side of the car. Wikus silently heaved a sigh of relief. She obviously didn't recognize him for who he really was. But he didn't want to giver her a chance to find out and quickly replied,

"No, no, I'm.. I'm fine, I'm fine here by myself-" He was interrupted as the lady completely disregarded his claim that he was "fine".

"Oh don't give me that, get in here, I'll give you a ride out of here. I was on my way out anyway." She opened the door on the passenger's side of the Jeep and patted the seat. Wikus looked up at her, keeping his arms crossed for fear that she might catch a glimpse of his mutated arm's fingers poking out of the sleeve. This was the first time in a while that he'd had nonviolent interactions with a member of his own species and he rather enjoyed it.. Thus, without thinking, he climbed up into the Jeep, sitting in the passenger's seat and shutting the door. Immediately goosebumps covered his body. The AC in the vehicle was running full blast and the air inside was a lot colder than he was used to.

"Th-thank you.." He mumbled, reaching for the seatbelt and pulling it over himself, buckling it on the other side of the seat. The lady grinned, reaching out to turn up the music on her radio. Music at the touch of a button was another thing Wikus had missed, and even though techno was not his idea of good music, it was still nice to have music at all.

"Dude, it's chill. Just hold on, it's a bit of a bumpy ride." The lady replied and the Jeep lurched into motion..


	2. Techno? Not So Much

"Buy it, use it, break it, fix it, trash it, change it, mail - upgrade it. Charge it, pawn it, zoom it, press it, snap it, work it, quick - erase it" The lady sang along to the techno song she was currently blasting on her vehicle's speakers, nodding her head to the beat and moving in a dancing motion. Meanwhile, Wikus merely gripped at the seat tightly, feet pressed tightly against the floor to keep himself from bouncing out of his seat. She certainly wasn't a careful driver in consideration of her passengers, but despite her antics, she seemed very alert toward her surroundings outside of the car. More than once she stopped to let a non-human cross the street, accompanied with a call of "Hey dude, take care!" out the window as she passed by. But she didn't pay much attention to Wikus at first, which gave him the chance to get a good look at her. She was thin, pale and sort of frail looking, but her sprightly attitude put the message across that she was anything but weak. Her eyes were a brownish green colour and her short, beaded hair was a bright white, obviously bleached to be that snowy colour. She wore an orange tanktop, sky blue shorts and knee high white combat boots. It was odd attire, but it didn't look bad on her. He looked away quickly when she suddenly glanced at him, studying him as well.

"So, what're you doing in here all by yourself?" She said, reaching over to turn down the volume a bit in order to hear him better. Wikus silently struggled to find an answer but before he even opened his mouth to talk, he was interrupted as she spoke again.

"Hold on, let me guess. You got too drunk for your own good last night and woke up this morning covered in dirt, with no shoes, in District 9." Wikus was about to protest indignantly that he never drank that much, before he realized it was the perfect lie that he'd been unable to come up with.

"I've.. I've just.. Had a rough time lately.. A lot's been going on in my life." Well.. At least that was the truth. The lady studied him and raised an eyebrow before saying:

"I'll say.. You sure have been in the news a lot." Wikus felt cold, a sudden pang of sickening fear hitting him in the gut as if he had just been punched. He looked at her quickly, eyes wide, fear written all over his features. The lady looked back at him, slowing the vehicle's pace and smiling slightly.

"Hey now, hey now, no need to get your panties in a bunch dude. I would never turn you in, no matter how 'dangerous' they say you are. You just seem like some poor harmless bloke who figuratively stepped into a hot mess way up to his ears." As she said this, Wikus felt an amazing wave of relief wash over him and he relaxed visibly, beginning to smile very slightly as well.

"You.. Don't know how happy I am to hear you say that." He said, voice warbling just a bit. The lady chuckled and replied,

"Hey man, I'm a pacifist; and considering how much the MNU wants you as a criminal, I can only imagine what they'd do once they got you. The thought sickens me." Wikus swallowed hard, thinking, 'You're not the only one..'. There was a pause before either of them said anything. Wikus was the first to break the silence.

"Why did you pretend not to recognize me then?" He asked, vaguely accusingly. The lady chuckled again.

"Well I knew who you were right away.. And from the very first time I heard about what had happened to you in the news, I wanted to help. At first when I was coming up the road I was worried that you might panic and run away, but for whatever reason you just stayed perfectly still and I figured that was my chance to see if I could get your attention. Since I figured that just about all humans are untrustworthy in your eyes, I decided I'd take a less direct approach and work out the kinks later on when we'd sort of gotten into a more comfortable atmosphere... Not the most brilliant plan in existence, but hey, it worked." She said, shrugging. Wikus leaned back in the seat, trying to relax himself completely.

"Yes.. It did.." He mused quietly. There was another long pause before he broke the silence again with another question.

"What do you mean by 'help', anyway?" He asked, shifting in his seat to be turned toward her more. She shifted a bit as well, but more in discomfort than the want to look in his direction, and glanced at him before returning her gaze to the road. It seemed they were almost at the exit.

"Um, one minute.." Squinting and leaning forward, she frowned bitterly. "Oh fiddlesticks. You might want to get in the back.. And duck down." She said quietly. Wikus looked slightly confused before following her gaze and seeing the gate.. With a huge group of armed guards standing at it.


	3. There's GOT To Be A Catch

Wikus uttered a profanity best not mentioned, and fumbled with the seatbelt buckle, his uncoordinated Poleepkwa hand which he'd instinctively reached to unbuckle with only got in the way and he swore again, only managing to frustrate himself in his haste. The girl noticed his trouble and reached over, pressing the button for him quickly. He nodded in thanks and all but scrambled into the back seat, squeezing down through the space between the seats to curl up on the floor. He shut his eyes tight, silently praying that all would go well. His stomach dropped when the vehicle came to a lurching stop, and the sound of the window rolling down was heard. Silently he listened to the conversation taking place in the front seat;

"Hey there dude, what's up?"

"What are you in here for? Do you have written permission?"

"Well I'm supposed to be studying non-human anatomy.. Here, I got someone in the MNU office to sign this little slip for me, if that's what you're looking for."

"Yeah that'll work. Alright, go on."

There was a pause, and then the vehicle lurched into motion yet again, passing through the gate and leaving behind District 9. Wikus breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed, pulling himself up and sitting in the back seat. The lady smiled back at him and said,

"There we go- now what was it you were saying?" Wikus crossed his arms and looked out the tinted window.

"I was about to ask you what you meant by 'help'." He replied promptly but politely. It felt good to exchange civil conversation with another human. How long had it been? Two days, perhaps? Nevertheless, it felt like months- no, years since he'd been able to have such a comfortable atmosphere with his own species.

"Well.. You obviously need a place to stay. I am willing to grant you asylum in my home until the change has fully taken place.. After that you can blend in without trouble." She began, glancing back to see the incredulous look on his face. That elicited a small chuckle out of her, but she was quick to continue:

"It also seems you're in need of some clothes.. Shoes, in particular it would seem. I also think you'll need some food- you're a little scrawnier than you look on TV." She paused as she turned a corner and began driving down a rather deserted road that led to a more rural part of town.

"Hold on now!" Wikus said suddenly, looking at her with a more suspicious expression. After running it over in his head once, he'd decided that it was far too good to be true- there had to be a catch. "There has to be a catch."

The lady looked back at him, grinning.

"Of course there is.. It's nothing you can't afford though, I promise." She said reassuringly, though he still looked a bit suspicious.

"Alright then.. What do you want from me?" He asked a bit begrudgingly, his mood visibly souring. The woman laughed aloud.

"Relax boy, don't get your bowels in an uproar. All I want is something very simple- permission to use you for artistic reference." As she said this, Wikus frowned a bit and his head involuntarily tilted a bit to the side.

"What.. Do you mean by that..?" He asked.

"Well, as you may have overheard me say to the guard at the gate, I have been given permission to venture into District 9 to study Non-Human anatomy on a more personal level... Up close, you know? I'm an artist so my main ambition is to draw up detailed and useful diagrams of Non-Human anatomy so that they can be studied without having to harm them or intrude upon their personal privacy in any way." She paused for a minute, turning down the AC, much to Wikus' pleasure, for he'd been attempting not to shiver ever since he'd gotten into the vehicle.

"All I want from you, is permission to do so in exchange for all that I'm offering you. Sounds pretty fair, right?" She asked suddenly. Wikus considered it for a brief moment before deciding it was a very small price to pay in exchange for the great kindness she was willing to give him. He nodded.

"Call it done." He said, allowing a small smile to come over his face briefly. There was a silence before he suddenly spoke again.

"So.. What's your name?"

"Vivi. Call me Vivi."

"Well then, Vivi.. I'm glad I met you."


End file.
